1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to bale wagons, i.e. vehicles operable to handle baled products such as bales of hay and straw.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An automatic bale wagon to which the present invention may be applied is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,527 and this wagon is provided with an automatic bale loader which picks up bales from the ground and deposits them on the wagon. In operation, bales enter the loader through deflector arms and engage a substantially vertical conveyor which upends and elevates the bales. After the bales have been elevated to a given height, the upper bale end contacts a guide member which serves laterally to deflect the bales into a bale receiving table. A resiliently mounted bale or guide shoe on the forward portion of the loader frame prevents the bales from falling forward as they are being elevated.
The loader mechanism is provided at one side of the wagon and is pivotally mounted thereon via pivot arms extending outwardly from a fore-and-aft pivot. Hydraulic actuator means extending between the wagon chassis and the loader are adapted to swing the loader upwardly and downwardly around the pivot. The loader may be positioned in a range of angular positions relative to the transverse direction of the wagon to facilitate operation on uneven ground and one hillsides. The loader may even be arranged to float over uneven ground during operation.
Mounted on the chassis, under the receiving table is a short chain conveyor extending from the receiving end of the table adjacent the loader to a point approximately midway along the receiving table. The receiving table is provided with a slot through which extend lugs carried by the chain conveyor, the lugs in use engaging a bale delivered by the loader and moving it to the remote end of the receiving table. The arrangement is such that the first of a pair of bales is not advanced far enough along the receiving table to actuate a trip mechanism. A second bale received on the receiving table is moved laterally by the chain conveyor to force the first bale against the trip mechanism so that when the receiving table has received two bales it is automatically tilted to a vertical position to deposit the pair of bales on a bale transfer table. Successive pairs or layers of bales are accumulated on the transfer table to form a tier of bales. The tier of bales, which may have three, four or more layers, is then transferred onto a load bed where the tiers are then accumulated in side-by-side fashion to form a stack of bales. When a stack of bales has been accumulated on the load bed, the load bed may be pivoted rearwardly to deposit the stack of bales upon the ground.
While the described bale wagon and those similar to it have been reasonably effective, certain drawbacks manifest themselves in particular operating conditions. One of these operating conditions is encountered when wet or damp bales have to be hauled. Of course, in principle, bales should be dry when they are put into storage, but in practice it often happens that the farmer has no alternative to handling such bales. Wet bales have a much higher friction and occasionally such a bale may either remain hanging over the discharge edge of the loader or bridge the gap between the discharge end of the loader and the receiving table. This prevents the cross conveyor on the receiving table from positively grasping the bale and transporting it to the other end of that table.
A similar situation may occur when operating on uneven ground and when the loader mechanism has been raised somewhat relative to the transverse axis of the wagon. In this condition the loader mechanism is positioned at an angle relative to the receiving table and has its discharge edge lifted substantially above the level thereof so that a bale may be suspended over the gap between the loader mechanism and the receiving table, thus being out of reach of the cross conveyor.
In such conditions the operator usually tends to clear the obstruction by momentarily swinging the loader mechanism up and down so as to launch the offending bale onto the receiving table but this is not highly satisfactory.